Recently there seems to have been a proliferation of Renée Fleming’s
performances on DVD from Decca. The company appears intent on publishing as
many as possible. Perhaps the marketing department has realised that she has
been a contracted artist to them since the early nineteen-nineties and must
now be in the autumn of her professional life. Recent issues have featured
her as Richard Strauss’s Marschallin and Arabella, roles in which she has
excelled on the world's stages. Among a distinguished discography
that includes many solo performances (review), duets, as with Hvorostovsky (see review), her late coming to Verdi’s Violetta in
La Traviata (see review) was particularly welcome. To that list I add her
performance here of Desdemona from the composer’s penultimate, and arguably
greatest, operatic work, Otello. The opera was premiered after a
long gestation when the great man was in his seventy-fourth year. As an
appendix to this review I outline the story of the genesis of Verdi’s
Otello and the faith, persistence and support, of friends that
brought it to fruition.

Renée Fleming’s association with this role at the Metropolitan Opera goes
back to 1994 when she stepped in for an injured colleague. Her reaction to
the role is detailed in a brief booklet essay. There is also a hint that
this issue, derived from a Met High-Definition screening to cinemas, might
be her farewell to the role as with others previously in her repertoire.
There is good news and bad news in respect of this issue. The sound and her
performance, vocally and as an actress, are outstanding and could not be
better framed than in this traditionally costumed and staged production. It
is due to be replaced in the autumn of 2015. As it is, Fleming’s
contribution to the love duet at the end of act one (CH.7), her soaring
voice over the drama in act three and her heart-rending singing of the
Willow Song and Ave Maria in act four are the highlights
(CHs. 26-28).

It is a pity, given the foregoing, that the Met did not surround her with
artists and a conductor who could do justice to her singing and acted
interpretation, let alone to Verdi’s creation. Maybe in better circumstances
Levine would have been on the rostrum. As to Semyon Bychkov’s
interpretation, the word 'anaemic' would be too strong. He
cannot even raise a half-decent storm at the opening and wanders between the
lyrical and pseudo-dramatic throughout. Further, he seems unappreciative of
the change of flowing style incorporated by Verdi in his writing for
Otello, as I outline in the appendix below.

At the best of times Johan Botha has not the most convincing figure du
part for the title role. He had cancelled other performances of the run
due to a virus which might have explained his dry tone, effortful singing
and constantly perspiring face. Falk Struckmann acted a saturnine Iago. With
his tall angular figure and facial contortions he was the epitome of evil as
his credo stated (CH.9), except that his tone was completely
lacking in Italianata. He sang as if in Wagner but I must admit
that the audience were significantly more impressed than I was. Elsewhere
Michael Fabiano was, in figure and tone, an elegant Cassio and Renée Tatum a
sympathetic and supportive Amelia. The chorus, unusually, were ragged at
times in a manner that Levine would never have tolerated.AppendixThe genesis of Verdi’sOtello -its conception and realisation

Otello was premiered at La Scala on 5 February 1887. It was
Verdi’s first totally new operatic composition since Aida was
premiered in 1871. It had a long genesis, becoming known, to a privileged
few, as "The Chocolate Project". It is not that Verdi had been
idle in the intervening years. His Requiem for Manzoni had followed
Aida in 1874 and he travelled widely in Europe conducting his own
works. However, friends among the Milan literati, meeting at the salon of
Verdi’s friend the Countess Maffei, thought he had more operatic composition
within him. This was despite his being in his seventh decade and
notwithstanding his protests to her that "the account was
settled". A number of them quietly plotted to tempt him, his knowledge
and love of Shakespeare being paramount in their thoughts. With the aid of a
dinner invitation from Verdi’s wife, who was in on the
plot, his publisher, Ricordi, and the conductor Faccio, broached the subject
with the great man with Boito’s name being mentioned as librettist. The next
day Boito was brought to see Verdi and three days later he returned with a
detailed scenario - quick work unless there had been prior manoeuvring.
Verdi liked it but would not commit himself. The composer encouraged Boito
to convert his synopsis into verse with the words "it will always be
good for you, for me, or for someone else." However, he would not
commit himself to compose the work. Verdi was to prevaricate on this project
for some time.

Time passed and Verdi went to Paris to present his Aida in
French. Back in Italy he composed two new works, a Pater Noster and
Ave Maria, which were presented in Milan, conducted by Faccio. To
Ricordi’s frustration, Otello seemed to be on the back-burner.
Strepponi warned Ricordi to be patient. He listened and suggested to the
composer another project, this time the revision of Simon
Boccanegra of 1857 (Venice), knowing that Verdi felt the work did not
deserve its failure and neglect. That Boito had agreed to be the librettist
of the revision tipped the scales. Verdi and Boito got on well, the latter
adding the completely new Council Chamber scene, the dramatic highlight of
the revision. The new version was premiered to acclaim at La Scala on 24
March 1881. Verdi also revised his five act Don Carlos (French)
into the shorter Don Carlo (Italian) premiered at La Scala in
1884.

Sparked by the success of the two revisions Verdi, albeit slowly, worked
on The Chocolate Project and its conclusion eventually came to
magnificent fruition at La Scala on 5 February 1887. It was his first wholly
new operatic work for the stage for eighteen years. He really had thought
that his book of operatic composition was closed with this, his
twenty-seventh title. The conception of Otello involved greater,
and significantly different, orchestral complexity compared to that of
Aida and Don Carlos. It marks a major compositional
movement from his previous aria, duet and chorus scenes, to a more fluent
smooth transition from one event in the story to the next. In this
conception Verdi was greatly aided by Boito’s taut libretto that reduced
Shakespeare’s Othello by six-sevenths, but without losing its
essence: the destruction of the erstwhile hero by the genie of jealousy
aided by the machinations of Iago. Boito dispensed with Shakespeare’s Venice
act and focused the whole of the action in Cyprus.